A Maiden's Life
by TheAnimeFicWriter
Summary: There exists a world of Gods and Goddesses and the only connection man has to that world are the Shrine Maidens. This is a story about a particular Shrine Maiden who defies what is known in order to do what is right.
1. Chapter 1

A Maiden's Life

Chapter 1

The Beginning of Life

 **Note:** Hello everyone, I've been wanting to write this story for so long, but because a lot is on my plate right now, it will take quite a while until this story takes off. I'm releasing the first chapter just to see what you guys think of it. More will come, but I want to finish a few more of my current stories before this one becomes a foreground story. I hope you enjoy it and let me know what you guys think.

It is said that there's a story of humanity and they're relationship with the gods above. Some say it's myth, others say it's fact. There's no way to tell for sure whether something is true or not so it's purely up to the listener to believe or disbelieve it.

…

It all started at the very beginning. God created man and man worshipped God. However, God knew that this wasn't how it should have been so he bestowed four women with eternal life and they became the Four Goddesses of Life. Those Four Goddesses soon became known as Love, Strength, Fortune, and Misfortune.

Man started to build shrines and monuments for these Goddesses which became their home and their source of power. They were loved throughout all mankind. Everyone went to them for prayer, wisdom, and guidance. With each visit, man gave these Goddesses power through their prayers. Each Goddess provided man with something that they desired whether it be luck in their love life or more success in their years to come. Unfortunately, where there's purity comes impurity.

Man eventually became corrupt and fell to great lows. This is where the Goddess of Misfortune got her name. Man went to her for revenge and selfish wishes. Through some way or another, this Goddess fulfilled their wish.

This way of life couldn't continue.

The Goddesses met with each other to discuss their encounters with man and Misfortune was always the main focus. The other Goddesses asked her to refrain from using her powers, but she refused. Misfortune told them that it was her duty to meet these requests. The other Goddesses knew that this wasn't what God wanted from them. That's when they decided to spread throughout the world, telling man to remain pure and not seek Misfortune for anything. Many people responded to this plea and man slowly moved away from Misfortune.

When God gave these women their powers, all he wanted was for man to worship these women and keep them connected to the world of man. Without worship, the Goddesses would wither and die, never to return to the world of man ever again.

More time went by and the Shrines of the other Goddesses continued to grow and expand. Gateway arches that led to the shrine grounds grew in numbers for them while Misfortune's Shrine started to wither away.

Unable to communicate with his subjects, God watched this tragedy unfold before him. His powers dwindled as man continued to worship the Goddesses that he created. With his dying breath, he bestowed four families with the power of a Shrine Maiden, hoping that it would create balance between the Goddesses.

These Shrine Maidens carried the responsibility as protector and safeguard for these four Goddesses. The Shrine Maidens also carried an important power. They were the one true connection to the human world. Even if their Shrines withered away from human neglect, a Shrine Maiden had the ability to keep their Goddess connected to this world. Without a Shrine Maiden, a Goddess was as good as dead. One family was given to each Goddess and things started to balance themselves for a short amount of time.

Through five generations, this system worked and kept things in check. However, war started to ravage the lands and many of these Maiden families were wiped out. As this happened, the Goddesses lost their Maidens. They eventually found out about this vital connection and knew that they couldn't last long so they came together and used their power to cast the Shrine Maiden gene to as many families as they could. Unfortunately, they didn't have the power of God so these families were not bound to a specific Goddess nor did they give man the ability to know about this gene. Only destiny would lead a Shrine Maiden to their Goddess.

At the turn of the 21st Century, worship to the Goddesses started to take a dip drastically. Religion and culture started to die while modernism and technology rose which forced the Goddesses to seek out more and more Maidens. They had enough power to make anyone their Maiden, but in doing so weakens them and prevents them from granting certain wishes that man may make.

With things starting to settle for the time being, the Goddesses comfortably took refuge in their Shrines and awaited worship from anyone and everyone. The Goddess of Love sat atop the rest. Although man became corrupt, love still resided in their hearts which allowed the Goddess of Love to be so powerful. Her worshippers allowed her to gain 7 Shrine Maidens with a lot power left at her disposal. The Goddess of Strength was next with 4 Shrine Maidens. The Goddess of Fortune with 2 and the Goddess of Misfortune with one.

Now, this story is about a little girl who struggles to find herself in this mess while later becoming one of the greatest Shrine Maidens ever seen.

…

Tojo Nozomi has turned 12 years old, the prime year to seek out her Goddess. Her journey was a long and scary one. All around her were signs pointing her to one Goddess or another, but she felt that none of them were the right one for her. She even visited the ones that were pulling her towards them, but she refused to be with them. It wasn't until she came across an old-looking Shrine. She walked down the pathway to the Shrine grounds and saw that most of the gateway arches had collapsed. As she drew closer, she saw that there were only three left standing, but as she took another step, one of them crumbled before her. This was the sign she was looking for. She ran as fast as she could until she entered the Shrine grounds. The whole place felt dark and lonely. She looked around frantically as a tear rolled down her face.

"Hello?! Is anyone here?!" She continued to look around, but there was no response. She then started to walk around the Shrine.

Most of the buildings were either destroyed or starting to collapse. The only one that was intact was the actual Shrine building. The bell and rope were still functional. When she rang the bell, she heard a faint breathing coming from inside, whispering the word "help." She didn't waste another second. She flew through the door and saw a woman on the floor struggling. It was the Goddess. She dropped her things and knelt down beside her.

"It's okay. I'm here to help. I'm a Shrine Maiden."

The Goddess turned her head and did everything she could to open her eyes.

"What is your name," she asked softly.

"Tojo Nozomi."

"I-I'm dying sweety. Will… Will you be my Shrine Maiden?"

"Of course." Nozomi grabbed the Goddess' hand and placed it on her chest. She also placed her one hand on the Goddess' chest. "I, Tojo Nozomi, shall be your Shrine Maiden. I shall protect you from danger and remain loyal to thy Goddess until my dying breath. If thou accept me, I am yours."

"I accept." The Goddess leaned in and kissed her on the lips. At that moment, the room lit up with blinding light and thus, a contract between Goddess and Shrine Maiden was made.

End of Chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2

A Maiden's Life

Chapter 2

Their Beginning

With a contract made, the two of them were bound.

It took some time for the two of them to get comfortable with each other. In the beginning, Nozomi mostly cleaned the shrine grounds and did her best to repair anything she could with her current ability. On the other hand, her Goddess was able to recuperate her strength with the presence of her Shrine Maiden. Once they got through the awkward phase of their relationship, that's when the Goddess started to open up to Nozomi.

"I am the Goddess of Misfortune. I've never liked the idea of titles and such so if you want, you may call me by my true name: Elisandria Ayasemichi."

"Um… No disrespect Goddess, but that name is kind of long and hard to remember."

"If I nickname serves you better, then feel free to bestow one upon me."

"Hm… How about Elicchi?"

"Haha, that does rather childish, but for you, I will accept."

…

The two of them slowly began to trust and understand one another. Because of the rules of a Shrine Maiden and her age, Nozomi was forced to remain within the Shrine grounds until her unbound age of 18. This allowed Elisandria to teach Nozomi everything she knew about the world.

Her lessons were tough and very complex, but she wanted to make sure that Nozomi understood the world and its every component. At times, Nozomi refused to learn, but other times, she seemed eager to fill her brain with new knowledge from her Goddess.

"Elicchi, may I ask you a question?"

"Of course, my child."

"Why are you the Goddess of Misfortune? I understand why God created his Goddesses, but why Misfortune? It's such a horrible thing to bestow on someone and the stories you tell me, the other Goddesses don't seem to like you."

"Nozomi, you have to understand that everything happens for a reason. God created a plan and everything has gone according to His plan. The other Goddesses just don't like things that they don't fully understand."

"But I thought the Goddesses were the smartest beings in this world."

"We are. It's just… Time disrupts everything, even us Goddesses."

"Well, I think you're the best Goddess regardless."

"Thank you Nozomi. Most people don't seem to share your ideal though."

"What do you mean?"

"The day you found me; I was on my dying breath. A Goddess needs her worshippers and her Shrine Maidens. Without those things, she can wither away forever. Before you came, no one ever visited my Shrine and I was running out of power to survive. I owe so much to you."

"Then I'll go out and find worshippers for you. That should be easy."

"I appreciate that, but an underage Shrine Maiden is prohibited from leaving these grounds until her unbound age of 18. Destiny is what brings worshippers to these Shrines. Neither you or I have that kind of power to influence people."

"So what'll happen to you if no one comes?"

"My Shrine will crumble and I will be left powerless. All I can do is pray that you remain by my side and for someone to find my wisdom."

…

The years went by and Nozomi approached her unbound age. Before then, she was hard at work restoring the Shrine. She restructured the broken-down buildings and repainted the ones that were starting to grow old. Every day, she would sweep the Shrine grounds with the hopes that someone would come across their Shrine and grovel at the majesty of her Goddess.

Meanwhile, Elisandria had her own daily plans. She had a fountain of wisdom and a hot spring located far up the mountain, away from sight. She would venture into the mountains every morning and not return until dusk. Nozomi only knew about the location that her Goddess was traveling to. She didn't know about the importance of this place and Elisandria kept that secret from her for a reason.

Upon her return, that's when Nozomi's lessons started. With her growing age and perception, Nozomi started to challenge her own Goddess with what could be told and what was kept hidden from her. Nozomi wanted to know more, but Elisandria kept telling her that it was best that she wait until the time was right to know about the other things she was hiding. When she reached the age of 17, Nozomi refused Elisandria's teachings. She told Elisandria that she wasn't doing enough for her. By explicitly telling her that there were things best not spoken made Nozomi cautious of learning any more from her. She was afraid that Elisandria's teachings were all a lie to keep her as her Shrine Maiden.

When this occurred, Elisandria retreated to her fountain. She examined the water carefully to see if there were any changes, but nothing changed. As much as it hurt her to see her own Shrine Maiden neglect her, she knew that this was God's plan and that she was going to follow it through till the end.

…

The morning of her 18th birthday was nothing different. She did her normal round of sweeping the grounds while Elisandria travelled to her fountain. However, as she finished up her task for the morning, a young girl entered the grounds. Nozomi immediately spotted her and tried to act natural. She welcomed her to the Shrine and left her to her business while watching her carefully. The girl walked up to the prayer building and went through the motions.

"Goddess, I have nothing. I horrible man has taken my family away from me. I loved my family and they loved me. Why does such evil have to exist in this world? I ask you to give me justice. Something… I just want my family to rest in peace. I want them to know that I tried."

The prayer bell rang far and loud, echoing all the way to the top of the mountain where Elisandria heard that girl's prayer. She suddenly reappeared inside the prayer building and took the coin that was used for prayer. She held it in her hand and the coin slowly vanished into nothingness. She then whispered to herself.

"You call upon my services for something that can be done. Have no fear, my child. Your voice is heard and your wish will be granted."

Once the girl left the grounds, Elisandria walked out onto the Shrine grounds meeting Nozomi in familiar bewilderment.

"So… Can you fulfill that girl's wish?"

"I will see what I can do." She turned around and headed back to her normal resting place.

"I plan on attending a university."

Suddenly, Elisandria stopped dead in her tracks and turned back to face Nozomi.

"You what?"

"I can't do this forever. I have to get out there and learn about this world. I'm no longer bound so there's not much that you can do to prevent me from doing this."

"My child, please don't do this. I need you here with me. Without you, I will die."

"Elicchi, I don't mean it like that. I will remain your Shrine Maiden and do my normal tasks. I just have to be a normal girl for once. I'm 18 years old. There are things I want to do. Don't deny this right that I have."

"But…" Elisandria suddenly closed her mouth. She had nothing on Nozomi. She was of unbound age and a normal girl, aside from the fact that she was a Shrine Maiden. As a Goddess, it's her responsibility to allow Man to reach their fullest potential. Letting a part of Nozomi go was just something that had to happen. "You'll need this." Out of nowhere, Elisandria created a stack of papers that she handed to Nozomi.

"What is this?"

"You've never been to school. These will allow you to enter into a university without any hassle." Elisandria then turned around and went into her room in silence.

Nozomi looked down and read through everything. It was a bunch of documents stating her qualifications and what she did in order to get into the school that she was thinking of. She wanted to approach Elisandria about this, but she was already to far gone. That's when she decided to pack up her things and go try her luck at the local university.

Nozomi ended up being gone for a long time so Elisandria had a lot of time to think. She returned to her fountain and watched Nozomi. As she watched her, nothing seemed out of the ordinary so she decided to turn in for the day. She uncloaked herself and stepped into the hot spring.

At the end of the day, Nozomi managed to get some good news from the local university. However, Nozomi didn't feel quite right about the whole situation. She didn't know much about the normal life of a student, but it just didn't seem like the normal way. When she returned, Elisandria was nowhere to be seen so she finished up her jobs as the shrine maiden and went to bed. As the night matured, Elisandria returned from her fountain and sat outside of Nozomi's room. She listened silently and heard that she was already asleep.

"You're an adult now so I know I can't really control you anymore. However, I hope you remember that I need you in order to remain on this planet. If you forget about me, I'll cease to exist. Please don't do anything stupid because there's only so much that I can do for you now."

Elisandria's facing the truth of her own destiny as well as her own Shrine Maiden. She just couldn't convince herself about it until now. All she wanted was for Nozomi to remain loyal to her with forgetting her past.

End of Chapter 2


End file.
